1,000 Wisconsin attorneys expected at State Bar Annual Convention in
Madison this week
MADISON, May 14, 2002 - Nearly 1,000 attorneys are
expected to gather in Madison this week for the State Bar of Wisconsin's
Annual Convention. The Monona Terrace Convention Center will host the
three-day event, which will run from Wednesday, May 15 to Friday, May
17.
The convention includes legal seminars featuring several prominent
speakers, as well as the swearing in of the new State Bar president, an
awards banquet honoring judicial excellence, and a program to recognize
outstanding public service. The State Bar will also feature its new
"branding the profession" initiative designed to educate the public
about the value of lawyers.
Highlights from the convention include:
Wednesday, May 15
Noon Golden Gavel Awards Luncheon (Rooms P/Q)
The Wisconsin Gavel Awards competition was established in 1985 by the
State Bar of Wisconsin as an annual event to recognize outstanding
public service by the media. The Media-Law Relations Committee will
present Golden
Gavel Awards to six winning print and broadcast journalists for
their contributions to public understanding of our system of law and
justice.
2:30 p.m. "Protecting our Rights after Sept. 11" (Hall of Ideas
GJ)
Presenter: Prof. David Cole, Georgetown University Law School
Professor Cole has successfully represented several immigrants in
political immigration cases involving charges of association with
terrorist groups.
5:30 p.m. Volunteer Lawyers Recognition Celebration (Community
Terrace)
Each year the State Bar of Wisconsin recognizes lawyers, law students
and law firms who have helped make the legal system more accessible by
providing pro bono legal services, community service and law-related
education.
Thursday, May 16
9 a.m. "Disparities in the
Justice System - A Look at How Unequal Treatment Affects the Public's
Trust and Confidence" (Ballroom AB)
Presenter: Professor Alan Dershowitz, of Harvard Law School
Dershowitz has been described by Business Week as a "feisty civil
libertarian and one of the nation's most prominent legal educators."
12:30 Public Trust & Confidence Community
Forum:
Focus on Juvenile Justice (Community Terrace)
Presenter: James Bell, director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute for
Juvenile Justice Fairness and Equity
Bell will discuss the disproportionate number of children of color in
the legal system. Program attendees include more than 150 judges,
lawyers, and members of law enforcement, corrections, child advocacy
groups and the public.
1:30 p.m. Assembly of Members (Ballroom D)
What are multidisciplinary practices (MDP) and should they be allowed in
Wisconsin? What is an ancillary business? What constitutes the
unauthorized practice of law? The State Bar's Multidisciplinary Practice
Commission is addressing these questions now, and will release its
interim report and recommendations. The Assembly of Members is the first
event at which the commission will share its majority and minority
reports and recommendations with the members of the Bar.
5 p.m. Presidential Swearing-in Ceremony (State Capitol
Rotunda)
President-elect Patricia Ballman of Quarles & Brady in Milwaukee
will be sworn in as the 47th president of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson will address the guests and
administer the oath of office.
Friday, May 17
12:30 Members Recognition Luncheon (Ballroom CD)
Retired judges Edwin Dahlberg, Rock County Circuit Court, and Myron
Gordon, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District, will receive
Lifetime Jurist Achievement Awards. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge
Maxine White will be honored with the Judge of the Year award. In
addition to the awards, 125 attorneys who were admitted to practice in
1952 will be recognized for their 50 years of service to the public and
the profession. Chief Justice Abrahamson will address the honored
guests.
The State Bar of Wisconsin is the mandatory professional association,
created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, for attorneys who hold a law
license in Wisconsin. With more than 20,000 members, the State Bar aids
the courts in improving the administration of justice, provides
continuing legal education for its members, and assists Wisconsin
lawyers in carrying out initiatives to educate the public about the
legal system.
Wisconsin Lawyers: Expert advisers. Serving you.
For more information, visit www.wisbar.org/convention
Press Releases
